Fever in Newborns

The other night Mary Abilene had a very, very mild fever. She was just a little hot to the touch and it lasted only a few minutes while she nursed and calmed down. But it prompted me to dig out one of my children's medical books. I found something worth sharing, since I maintain a natural birth blog.

This was in the fever section of Dr. Robert Mendelsohn's "How to Raise a Healthy Child... In Spite of Your Doctor" Dr. M is an M.D. and a pediatrician!

"Newborn babies may suffer from infections related to obstetrical interventions during the delivery process, prenatal or hereditary conditions, or events that occur shortly after birth. They may develop abscesses as a result of fetal monitoring prior to delivery or aspiration pneumonia from amniotic fluid forced into the lungs because of overmedication of the mother during labor. They may contract an infection from circumcision performed by the obstetrician before they left the hospital. Finally, they may develop infections from the legion of germs that abound in the hospital itself. (That's one of the reasons all of my grandchildren have been born at home!)" (pp. 76-77) He goes on to say that a baby in the first few months of life with a fever should always be taken to the doctor. He lists these reasons because he says that most fevers in babies and children older than a few months, do not warrant a trip to the doctor.